DIABETES FACTS: ITS NOT JUST ONE HEALTH PROBLEM - BUT A SERIES - THIS IS THE FIRST GENERATION IN OVER TWO CENTURIES WHO WILL NOT LIVE AS LONG AS THEIR PARENTS!
With the very new epidemic of obesity and blood sugar elevation, leading to diabetes, for the first time in the past two centuries, children born in 2000 or later, will be the first generation excepted NOT to live longer than their parents. This is from a study done by Dr. Jay Olshansky, et al and published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2005. This is shocking news.
Back in 1985, there were a handful of states in which about 10% of the population were obese. It has risen to all states having anywhere from 15-35% of their population being obese. Now about 26% or about 77 million Americans are developing diabetes - blood sugars skyrocketing.
So what is going on here? In the normal case of events, we eat a meal and our blood sugar rises, which cues the hormone insulin to secrete, alerting the cells of the muscles and liver to take up the glucose, either to burn it as fuel, or store as glycogen for later use. This is normal and we are 'insulin sensitive' responding to the hormonal commands.
Then its a progression of stages which begins, resulting with overt diabetes signs and symptoms. At first the blood glucose doesn't change a lot, but the blood sugar levels start to climb slightly, (insulin resistance but with compensation, so blood glucose is still all right)… then as things progress we get higher blood glucose levels and the high insulin levels, so now the body is not compensating and things are beginning to break down.
At this point supplemental insulin is not needed, but certainly dietary change and supplements should definitely be used to reverse this biochemistry.
The pancreas has been pumping out insulin and is fatiguing. Your cells are not listening to insulin's commands, so more is forced out to prevent hyperglycaemia or high blood sugar levels, which are very damaging to your cells.
Making the diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome or pre-diabetes usually consists of having the symptoms of abdominal obesity, a tendency to form clots, inflammatory conditions, insulin resistance (high on blood testing), elevated blood pressure, abnormal and high blood fats values tending to clogging of arteries. These symptoms of part of a very particularly alarming package of factors, heralding imminent ill health and lowering longevity.
The next stage and decline in health comes from the fact that we now know that with this set of risk factors, a person is setting themselves up the evolution of deeper chronic diseases such as erectile dysfunction, mental decline and function, osteoporosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, sleep apnea, muscle wasting, cardiovascular disease and of course ultimately Type 2 Diabetes. We're not even calling it 'adult onset diabetes' anymore, because they are now finding this type of diabetes in children as young as eight years old. No wonder this generation is predicted as having lowered life spans.
There are two diabetic types, Type-1 where the beta cells of the pancreas which produce insulin are destroyed either from unknown reasons or as a result of autoimmune causes.
Type-2 is characterized by insulin resistance, impaired insulin production and increased glucose production. These patients may or may not require insulin.
On a two hour glucose test where you're fed a concentrated glucose drink after fasting, in the normal person the blood glucose will spike up and by two hours is back to normal, With diabetes, firstly the fasting glucose is higher and then after the drink, blood glucose spikes up faster and stays high, much past the two hour range. This is saying that you're body is simply not handling glucose properly, you're in trouble.
And it's not just the pre-diabetic or diabetic high blood sugars we're worried about…it's the end results. The tissues changes which occur as a result of insulin resistance and poor glucose metabolism are the ones which result in arterial plaquing, high blood pressure, kidney cellular damage/failure, heart tissue damage and failure. In other words, the long chain of consequences which can and more and more are ending in death.
Alright then, back to my original question…how the heck did we get here? Why, with all the advancements in health care knowledge and technology is it that this current generation could be destined to live shorter lives than their parents??
Those of you who have been reading my newsletters for sometime will know that my major thrust is to 'look at the big picture'. Its really not about just a wonked out thyroid, or high blood pressure or obesity..its about what those risk factors have to do with the whole 'YOU'. Well here's a major twist. Lims, JS et al. published a paper in 2007 which shows us that its not just about obesity and whether that will lead to diabetes. Sure that's a large contributor, but there's more.
You see there is an enzyme in your blood called GGT and it's high when your body is trying to make glutathione, your body's premiere molecule of detoxification. See my last newsletter www.y2khealthanddetox.com/nl10-4.html The relationship in Lims' study was that in those people who had a high GGT and were obese, THEY were the ones most likely to develop diabetes. The toxicities were mostly persistent organic pollutants (POP) and heavy metals from this toxic world we live in.
Research has also alerted us that arsenic in water supplies, bisphenol A (from plastic water bottles), mercury, cadmium and lead all augment the onset of diabetes.
Other research shows that high insulin, caffeine and stress molecules (cortisol and its derivatives) together enhance the likelihood of developing diabetes.
Why the difference in our basic biochemistries? Have our genes changed? Do we work differently on a cellular basis now? I don't think so. What HAS changed is our environment, Big Time!
It's the effects of the POP's, heavy metals, nutrient-depleted, but calorie-rich fast food which is changing HOW are genes are expressed or show up. TIME magazine did a very good expose on this back in January 18, 2010.
Our genes actually become 'marked' by these proteins that sit outside the DNA and they govern which genes are turned on (expressed in our make-up) or turned off (by-passed and kept quiet). This is what has changed and this is what we have to alter back to the best selection possible for each of us.
Solutions - Diabetic Facts - Diabetic Help - Reversing Diabetes
This is IT…this is HOW. You Boomers who want to live well, and long and without medication…pay attention!
I'm taking the confusion out of all the mountains of information, theories and fad ideas currently being spewed on the internet. And don't tell me that your blood sugar is fine if you have any of the other factors. It's about optimizing your personal biochemistry and it is NOT very difficult.
1) First and foremost a Mediterranean- Low Glycemic Index Diet. People, you have to get those excess sugars out of your diet, especially the ones which really spike that glucose right after eating. In more recent studies, it's been shown that it's this 'spike' of blood sugar that is the most damaging to your health.
DIABETES DIET PLAN
Developed by Dr. David Jenkins, a professor of nutrition at the University of Toronto, the Glycemic Index measures the speed at which foods are broken down by the body to form glucose, the body's source of energy. High G.I. foods break down quickly and leave you looking for the next food fix. Low G.I. foods break down more slowly and leave you feeling fuller, longer you can eat less without going hungry. It is these low G.I. foods that form the core of the diet.
You simply choose foods in the low glycemic index range to stabilize your blood sugars and reduce the 'spike' of glucose after a meal. Essentially foods are very whole grains, protein, lots of vegetables, some fruit, seeds and nuts. If there were two things I could tell you to quit completely, it would be white bread, buns, etc and white potatoes (i.e. fries) and that alone would make a large difference in your health.
Here are a few books to get you going:
Medically, there are drugs which block the absorption of some carbohydrates and lower the spike, but they have gastrointestinal side effects and also they eventually lose their effect. I use Glucorest and Insinase:
You take one of each before meals.
Insinase is very important to reduce the inflammation associated with a diabetic or pre-diabetic state. Reducing the inflammation makes it much more easy in reversing diabetes.
Glucorest, on the other hand is made from Touchi which is a fermented soy bean extract. In studies this not only lowered the glucose spikes after a meal, but lowered cholesterol, triglycerides and elevated HDL - the 'good' cholesterol.
2) Increase exercise. Now this doesn't have to be a marathon training. In fact, a colleague Dr. Al Sears MD has a programme in which you can get amazing exercise benefits in just 12 minutes per day. Check it out…people can't believe how well this works!:
Melt Away Fat and Prevent Heart Attacks in Just 12 Minutes a Day
Ditch those tiresome aerobic workouts! They’re actually making your heart and lungs smaller – and increasing your risk of disease. And jumping around for 45 minutes to an hour or more is not helping you lose weight, either!
PACE® proves once-and-for-all that a great body and vibrant health does NOT have to be difficult, time consuming or boring. You’re just seconds away from unleashing the killer body and disease-free life that only Dr. Sears’ PACE® program can give you…Click HERE
My patients LOVE this programme...and so do I.
3) Relaxation Yoga, Meditation - some way to switch off the stress hormones. My personal favourite is Hypnosis Network's "Managing Stress and Anxiety" and also for those who don't deal with change well there is "Preparing for Uncertainty" These effective, easy-to-use CD's by professionals in their fields are a perfect home remedy to facilitate stress reduction.
4) Eat organically - You HAVE to remove the chemicals and toxins in your food. I go into this in detail on my 'Deep Nutrition' page.
Some people complain that they find it hard to eat a lot of salads or raw foods. No problem, on that page I talk about using the VitaMix to make your own organic/whole food drinks. Much easier.
If you're not convinced about organic food or the quality of your food in terms of how it's raised and process, then watching 'Food Inc' should do it. If you have any sense, watching this movie will completely change how you select your food.
5) Stop putting chemicals on your face - On my Natural Skin Care page I introduce my favourite, chemical free skin care, made by a family business here in Canada. (Of course, we ship world wide)
6) Detoxify. We've all been exposed to chemicals in the environment, in our food and in the air. Using a simple detoxification plan which you can take ongoing is the best way to protect yourself and again, stop the abnormal biochemistry which evolves into diabetic symptoms. A very detailed explanation of detoxification and liver cleansing is on my Natural Mercury Detox page.
Dr. Mark Hyman MD a colleague and fellow practitioner of Functional Medicine, which I use, has this to say about the importance of Glutathione:
In this video, Dr. Hyman talks about glutathione sources (bio active whey protein) as a supplement. I used to use Immunocal for my patients, but found that GSH Complex is definitely better than Immunocal and quicker acting. (And much less expensive than Immunocal.)
Dr. Hyman also mentions the necessity of Alpha-Lipoic Acid (Meta Lipoate ),
N-Acetyl-Cysteine or Nac, Milk Thistle, Selenium, Sulphur containing foods, methylating agents such as B12, B6 and a high quality folic acid, there are all found in Advaclear.
Oxygenics is essential as the detox process, in particular Phase I has a great need for mixed antioxidants, all of which are in Oxygenics.
Use 1 scoop of GSH Complex per day..read the instructions in the store.
GREAT NEWS!! We have changed our pricing policy in the store to match or be a little lower than Best-Price.com Let us know if you find any of our prices higher than there.
Note to my Pet List: This information applies to your pets, too. They are victims of poorly made food and the toxic environment we live in.
Don't forget, you pet owners - we still have room for a few more people to test our new pet product. Fill in the form below and I'll be sending out details in the next week or so:
I'll be sending more information on this throughout this next week. This is a major part of your health and you absolutely NEED to take action to protect yourself and your longevity.
